THIS Is the GOP Field for 2008?

WordGirl and I watched the debate last night. Here's what we gathered between MST3K-style riffs:

Ron Paul - Complete nutter. Just when you think, "Hmm, not bad, I like the way he's thinking" he comes out with a comment to the effect that if we just packed up and left the Middle East we wouldn't be attacked any longer. Sure. Until the jihadists needed another excuse to attack us, such as Israel continuing to exist or McDonald's in the Gaza Strip.

Tom Tancredo - Great on immigration, sure, but won't fight in Iraq unless Mexicans come over the Iraqi border.

Duncan Hunter - Generally gives strong, articulate responses; certainly has the right emphasis on supporting the troops in wartime. Smirks way too much and thinks he's smarter than he is---we don't need Bush III.

Sam Brownback - I want to like the guy, I really do, but he didn't provide a substantive answer to any question at all last night and looked like a high school debate clubber who mislaid his index cards.

Mike Huckabee - Completely fake. Without the talking points he's slavishly devoted to, the man would simply stand at the podium staring at the audience and imagining they were made out of nougat.

John McCain - Tired and bored. Looks like he can't believe he's losing to these idiots and I don't blame him one bit. I do blame him for being a sleazy politician, though. Rather than answering a question as to why he refused to sign a "no new taxes" pledge by saying that he had a solid record on taxes, he should have said, "Because I didn't sign a damned thing Uncle Ho's boys at the Hanoi Hilton shoved in front of my face and I won't sign a damned thing some Washington bureaucrat shoves at me either. John McCain won't sign anything. Hell, I don't even have a library card. If I want to read a library book, I have to sneak into the library at the dead of night, slit the throat of the librarian, and fade into the darkness." Which brings up the question: Why can't Chuck Norris run for President?

Mitt Romney - Pathetically plastic. Don't believe one word he says, even when the word is, "Huh?" Nailed on the issue of claiming his sons were "serving their country" by working on his campaign rather than fighting in Anbar. Nailed when he tried to weasel out of a straight answer on whether or not the surge is working. Nailed on the Iranian hypothetical when he basically proposed to have cabinet meetings. If anyone needs proof that money corrupts in politics, it's that "FeeFee" (Romney's nickname from Taxachusetts which he probably lied about not knowing about last night) is considered a top tier candidate. This guy's so plastic he makes a Ken doll look like a plush toy.

Rudy Giuliani - Likely GOP candidate in 2008. Answers War on Terror and crime questions directly and plausibly, as when he noted that Ronald Reagan didn't negotiate with the Soviet Union emptyhanded, but with 1,000 missiles aimed at Russian cities. If he is elected, he will be great for the war, but will easily set back social conservatism and conservates within the GOP 25-30 years. We will never get Congress back for another generation and likely have a 3rd party form. This guy is utter death on the social issues and as regards his private life, and he's got too much ego to avoid trying to ram his positions on both down our throats. There's no way he's going to appoint good conservative judges to the Supreme Court either.

So WordGirl and I will wait to see what Fred Thompson does. At the moment, it doesn't look promising.